| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil 08:45 - Aug 13 with 4955 views | unstableblue |
The deep admiration for McKenna and his persona/style, his intelligent communication, the culture he formed, will always remain
But slowly interview after interview, combined with changes in style/system on the pitch - the slow building of a bond to O’Neil
I liked the short snippets from his welcome speech to young academy entrants (TownTV)
Simple
Enjoy the opportunity, don’t look too far ahead but be the best version of yourself each time you train/play
Delivered with an approachable style
The bond commences
A win against Sunderland and it accelerates
How are you feeling towards the new man at the helm? |  |
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| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 12:06 - Aug 13 with 1053 views | OldFart71 |
Of course we will never know how the team capable of bidding to stay in the Premier League would have been or performed under KM.
If it were true that he fell out with MA because he wouldn't agree to the purchase of Cajuste then maybe if that was the intention of the type KM would go for I think we would be in trouble pretty soon.
We may be even with GON's setup. But we can see what is evolving.
A strong defence, A covering, strong tackling midfield along with hopefully someone coming in to give a bit of flair and a forward line capable of a quick turnover when possible.
All very positive and whatever happens it shows a desire to establish in the Premier League. Fingers crossed. |  | | |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 12:07 - Aug 13 with 1055 views | ClareBlue |
I miss being brought into a parallel universe and reality by Lambert. Things you saw didn't really happen and things that apparently did happen you just never saw. | | | |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 12:07 - Aug 13 with 1053 views | chicoazul |
I’m extremely unconvinced but Joe made a good case for him before he was appointed and what the hell do I know anyway. He just doesn’t feel like a Premier League manager to me. |  |
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| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 12:09 - Aug 13 with 1038 views | Swansea_Blue |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 09:28 - Aug 13 by John_Warks_Willy |
Sounds a bit grumpy, but it isn’t. I’m genuinely holding judgement for when the season starts. I think it’s virtually impossible to judge him properly until then. Performances, results, reactions and interviews under pressure, fan unrest, heavy losses, etc etc. I’m hopeful and optimistic, and def support him, but let’s wait.
I am impressed with the recruitment so far though, and if that’s on GON then 👌 |
Same. There’s nothing wrong with being optimistic in the summer of course, but the mood will soon change after some bad results or if results don’t match people’s expectations even. Look at how some people started to turn against KM during promotion seasons to see how quickly the mood can switch. |  |
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| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 12:18 - Aug 13 with 1016 views | unstableblue |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 12:07 - Aug 13 by ClareBlue |
I miss being brought into a parallel universe and reality by Lambert. Things you saw didn't really happen and things that apparently did happen you just never saw. |
Yes I found the Mick, Lambert and Hirst post match interviews really uninspiring and as you say with Lambert disconnected from what you had seen play out.
Mick clearly the best, but I got no insights from his views or descriptions of a game.
Then Kieran arrived and it was like poetry listening to him after a game - insightful, honest, clear.
Don’t think GON will reach those levels, but he’s been pretty good after friendlies so far this summer. | |
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| I think it also worth pointing out…. on 12:47 - Aug 13 with 970 views | JeremiahBrown |
| I think it also worth pointing out…. on 09:08 - Aug 13 by Bloots |
….that if/when both Enciso and Ouattara join then that has to be seen as some sort of endorsement of his coaching too.
Obviously it won’t have been the only factor (£££) but to see them following him here has to be viewed as a positive. |
yes, it says here https://www.transferfeed.com/t
González also reports that Enciso is set to sign a contract until June 2031 and says the Ipswich manager was a key factor during negotiations. | | | |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 12:52 - Aug 13 with 955 views | TRUE_BLUE123 |
He has done nothing to make people not like him, seems a decent bloke with clear ways he wants to play the game. Everyone should want him to be successful.
But he is a new manager with no on pitch credit at Ipswich. If we start the season badly things will get a bit moany. That is the way it goes. |  |
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| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 13:11 - Aug 13 with 913 views | OldFart71 |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 12:09 - Aug 13 by Swansea_Blue |
Same. There’s nothing wrong with being optimistic in the summer of course, but the mood will soon change after some bad results or if results don’t match people’s expectations even. Look at how some people started to turn against KM during promotion seasons to see how quickly the mood can switch. |
I think it's important that a mood change doesn't come too quickly. Obviously we need to hit the ground running and you often find that big teams aren't up to speed at the beginning of the season so that's the time to take advantage.
We also need to remember that although we have a different man at the helm the results may not differ greatly. But it appears that we are getting in what we need across the park. So if it doesn't work it cannot be due to lack of trying.
I was very sad and disappointed that KM left as he did. We can assume that the bringing in of GO'N was carefully looked into. It won't be his fault if we fail.
But of course fans ultimately blame a manager for failure. You cannot however you source players guarantee that what you thought you bought is what you get no matter how much you look into what they have done prior to signing. | | | |
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| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 14:03 - Aug 13 with 860 views | Overtheborderblue |
Sam Morsy was on Talksport lunchtime and he has been talking to some of the players who have said they are really enjoying GON training , tactical thoughts and seem totally fully engaged and really behind the new setup.
So maybe like many I was not excited by the non sexy manager but I am being turned around by the words and play coming from in front and behind the scenes at Portman road.
Maybe just maybe in Ashton we trust! | | | |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 14:44 - Aug 13 with 799 views | nshearman1 |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 13:11 - Aug 13 by OldFart71 |
I think it's important that a mood change doesn't come too quickly. Obviously we need to hit the ground running and you often find that big teams aren't up to speed at the beginning of the season so that's the time to take advantage.
We also need to remember that although we have a different man at the helm the results may not differ greatly. But it appears that we are getting in what we need across the park. So if it doesn't work it cannot be due to lack of trying.
I was very sad and disappointed that KM left as he did. We can assume that the bringing in of GO'N was carefully looked into. It won't be his fault if we fail.
But of course fans ultimately blame a manager for failure. You cannot however you source players guarantee that what you thought you bought is what you get no matter how much you look into what they have done prior to signing. |
How carefully was GON looked into? Ashton claimed he was looking deep 'into all markets' - and then within a couple of weeks appointed his former Bristol City mate. Generally I think the acquisitions have been excellent, but we don't know how many were already planned pre-GON, and these latest two for potentially over £40m, particularly the Outtara purchase, are clearly GON approved and in my humble opinion quite worrying. Anyway, we can argue endlessly about this, the proof will be in the results. | | | |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 15:47 - Aug 13 with 735 views | ernie |
lol. Utterly pointless post. Judge him on our results and when he has to speak under pressure, not meaningless pre season platitudes. | | | |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 16:03 - Aug 13 with 699 views | Metal_Hacker |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 15:47 - Aug 13 by ernie |
lol. Utterly pointless post. Judge him on our results and when he has to speak under pressure, not meaningless pre season platitudes. |
That's the spirit ! |  |
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| POST OF THE DAY (n/t) on 16:12 - Aug 13 with 679 views | unstableblue |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 14:03 - Aug 13 by Overtheborderblue |
Sam Morsy was on Talksport lunchtime and he has been talking to some of the players who have said they are really enjoying GON training , tactical thoughts and seem totally fully engaged and really behind the new setup.
So maybe like many I was not excited by the non sexy manager but I am being turned around by the words and play coming from in front and behind the scenes at Portman road.
Maybe just maybe in Ashton we trust! |
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| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 19:37 - Aug 13 with 578 views | unstableblue |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 15:47 - Aug 13 by ernie |
lol. Utterly pointless post. Judge him on our results and when he has to speak under pressure, not meaningless pre season platitudes. |
Killjoy
Look I get your point, but GON has no credit in the bank with the Town fan base, and if he can win some fans over early, they may give him some leeway if things don’t start well.
If he doesn’t build a rapport with fans early then the very thin support he has could turn against him very quickly.
Christ McKenna was getting brickbats last season for a pragmatic path - despite having gold bullion in the bank.
Am I allowed to say the birthday greeting vid for our new Serbian continued the warming to GON? | |
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| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 00:10 - Aug 14 with 459 views | armchaircritic59 |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 09:01 - Aug 13 by hsg78 |
100% the most important continuity piece to get right for me was to have a manager that spoke as well as Kieran.
I've been very impressed with GON thus far, and am really looking forward to the season. Additionally, really excited to see if Sindre can continue his good work over the off season in the 10. |
Very impressed with his communication, but I'm not surprised having witnessed his appearance on a Sky monday night football show a year or two back, when he did something I'd never seen before or since. Gave a great in depth explanation of exactly how he set his current team up to play, the tactics and what he expected from players and more. When he finished, the show host said, you do realise you've just given every watching PL manager/coach a complete rundown on everything about your team? His reply was, I'm not naive enough not to realise that I've told them nothing they don't know already. That masterclass was for viewers , he wasn't bothered about anything else. |  | | |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 00:44 - Aug 14 with 438 views | patrickswell |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 12:07 - Aug 13 by chicoazul |
I’m extremely unconvinced but Joe made a good case for him before he was appointed and what the hell do I know anyway. He just doesn’t feel like a Premier League manager to me. |
He’s only ever managed in the Premier League though - 2 and a half seasons worth of matches. |  | | |
| The slow building affection for Gary O’Neil on 09:11 - Aug 14 with 278 views | Churchman |
I am completely open minded about him.
GON has said the right things so far and seems engaging as a person. He’s not oily like Russell Martin or grating like Dych or Lambert but seems confident in his own abilities.
When it comes down to it, can he deliver? That’s all that really matters to me. And to be fair to O’Neill that’s not just down to him. That’s also on the players, facilities, medical team (who did a brilliant job last year), staff, everyone. It’s 2026 and the days of the manager doing everything Clough, Robson, Revie or even GB style are long gone.
So, if we can go well against Sunderland, it’ll be brilliant. If we do not, patience. As long as I can see what O’Neill and the team are trying to do then I’ll be ok with it. He will get my backing. I was pretty patient with Hurst, but even by October it was clear the bloke was so far out of his depth he needed a wet suit and a periscope and I still thought see how it’s going end of November. Too long in that instance.
So I like people to be given sufficient time - but when it comes to it, in a results business he will get less of it than McKenna had. Fair? Not really but since when in life was anything fair?
O’Neill for me has made a good start. He’s not tried to be something he’s not and comes across as genuine. All good and I’m looking forward to the new season. It’ll be intriguing. |  | | |
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